Knarl Sanctuary
by secretfanficlover
Summary: Gift Fic: MoonytheMarauder1. Wolfstar family safari/ knarl rescue adventure in South Africa.


**This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

* * *

Word Count: 2247

Title: Knarl Sanctuary

Note: AU! adopted Harry- also I know Knarl's aren't native to South Africa, but a Wizard smuggled them into the country, and now the few that are there face extinction. Also the misspellings are to signify the differences in pronunciation. The quote is used more as inspiration in terms of making every moment count.

Warnings:

Beta: Aya Diefair & VoilaMoon

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**Gift Fic: MoonytheMarauder1 (Elizabeth) **

[Pairing] RemusSirius

[Genre] Romance

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International Wizarding School Competition:

[School]: Ilvermorny

[Year] 1- Deputy

[Prompts]:

Main: [Creature] Knarl

Additional: [Quote] "Don't let yesterday take up too much of today." - W Rogers

[Colour] Emerald Green

[Theme]: The Burrow

[Restriction/Special Rule] Setting: Airplane/ South Africa

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Hogwarts

Assignment 1: Celtic Studies: Celtic Languages: Task #3 - Welsh: Write about someone/people trying to keep something from becoming extinct or dying out (like a tradition, language or risk of animals becoming extinct).

Seasonally:

Days of the year: December 31st - Make Up Your Mind Day: Write about making a choice.

* * *

Sirius had Harry in the crib in front of him while he was curled up on the couch with a book all about Knarls. He read out loud to Remus who was standing in the kitchen preparing their son's bottle. "...and there is a small colony of them in South Africa that was protected by the native wizarding communities until they died out…" his voice trailed off, and he plopped the large leather book down in his lap.

"Isn't is sad, Moony?" he asked.

"I don't think there is really much to be done about it," Remus's voice echoed from the kitchen before he appeared with the bottle. Harry's emerald eyes perked up when he noticed what Remus had, and everything else was forgotten once he got his bottle.

"What if we go there?" Sirius suggested suddenly.

"Don't be crazy, Sirius, Harry is barely able to walk, we can't go to Africa," he insisted.

"I'm sure he would be perfectly safe," Sirius replied indignantly.

"Love, last time you lost him at the zoo," Remus said, sitting down and patting his knee reassuringly.

"I know you think I'm not responsible enough, but this is really important, plus, look how cute they are." Sirius held up the book. The book showed a small creature that looked like a hedgehog curled up in fright on the page.

"Awww," Remus said, and Sirius grinned.

"Not even you can resist the cuteness."

"But, Sirius," Remus tried to interject.

"We can even fold up his cot, it folds you know."

Sirius grinned, knowing soon Remus would fold like Harry's cot. Remus was strict, but he also knew that it could be a great bonding experience for them as a family.

"I will think about it, okay?" Remus said eventually. "Don't make any choices without me, promise?" Sirius nodded, he was happy just to have gotten that far.

"We will need to think of how to travel, a Portkey isn't safe for Harry, and Floo powder gives him terrible allergies."

"I know, and long distance Apparation is bad for his young bone structure. I read the books."

Sirius grinned at Remus. He didn't realise how overprotective Remus would be as a parent. He knew that if they were just the uncles or godparents, these things wouldn't be nearly as important, but raising Harry meant that they needed to be serious. Harry was going to be raised exactly like his parents intended for him to have all the love he could possibly need. As well as necessities, of course. Also they wanted him to experience so much, to make up for a lifetime without his parents, they wouldn't let the past affect his present and future.

* * *

Sirius was fiddling with his Knarl book, which he dropped when Harry let out a whine. He seemed fine, so Sirius picked him up, then sniffed at the diaper. "Ewwww," he said, wishing he hadn't done that. He tickled Harry's toes to cheer him up, and with a quick spell, he vanished the smelly diaper and placed him on the couch to put on the clean one.

Sirius was so focused that he hardly heard the door opening and Remus coming back from his outing. Sirius was curious what his husband was up to, but Remus had just said, "You will see," when questioned about it. As soon as Sirius had the mission accomplished, he sighed in relief as he saw the little boy grinning at him. Those emerald eyes always made it bittersweet when he realised that Harry would never meet Lily and James. They would have been great parents.

"You know, your eyes look just like your mothers," Sirius said to the baby, who clearly didn't understand all the words yet, but the tone had Harry tilt his head to the side to look at him curiously.

"Sirius, don't be so dramatic," Remus said, getting Sirius's attention. He was still holding Harry in his arms but looked up to see Remus holding some papers in his hands.

"Let me guess, it's a surprise," Sirius joked, looking at those documents. He could tell they were typed up, so he thought that it probably wasn't anything wizarding related.

"I found the answer." Remus grinned, dropping the papers on the couch and picking Harry up for Sirius to read them.

"I didn't know I asked a question," Sirius said cheekily before reading quietly. He looked up, a smile splitting his face. "We are going on a _Muggle Aeroplane_? To the Karoo in _South Africa_?"

Remus nodded, "I even made arrangements for us to see the last remaining Knarls, and they said they could use all the help they can get."

"Wow!" Sirius beamed, "I can't believe we're going on a family vacation!"

"Yes, just the three of us." He played with Harry's hair, and the toddler laughed cheerfully.

* * *

The day of their flight on South African Airways arrived, they were at the airport, walking with a trolley full of bags. Sirius had Harry in a pouch, attached to his back like a kangaroo, only with a blue chair with straps. Harry was fast asleep, all the excitement of the day had gotten his sleeping all messed up, but Sirius knew it probably wouldn't last very long. Remus made him read all about keeping small children safe in flight. A spare pacifier hung with a string around his neck.

The flight was long, and Sirius was up the entire trip. Remus had managed to fall asleep, but each noise from Harry had Sirius fully awake, just in case. He couldn't stop staring at all the people that crowded the plane. Every seat was full, and people were stuffed in so close he felt like they were sardines in a tin can. People of every race and nationality seemed to be aboard the plane, and he saw a woman with a trolley offering peanuts to an elderly woman. When she reached him she looked right at Harry and smiled.

"What a strange scar," the flight attendant said, her eyes seemed to be looking for something from Sirius. He wasn't sure if she was a witch. If she was, she would know exactly who Harry Potter is.

"It's my son, Harry, his parents died in a car crash," he said. "That's how it happened, the night they died." He didn't want anyone thinking they weren't making sure Harry didn't get hurt.

"Wow," she said, standing closer. "Little Harry Potter."

"Could I get something to drink? Soda, maybe?" Sirius asked.

"Of course Mr Black," she said.

'_Okay, definitely a witch,' _he thought. She returned soon, and when the altitude stopped bothering Harry, he drifted off to sleep, which meant that they were fine until the plane started its descent in the OR Tambo International Airport. When the plane dropped, the altitude bothered Harry's ears, and he cried all the way until they landed.

* * *

"This way," Remus said. Sirius was so excited, this would be his first time seeing the Knarl's in real life, and he wondered if Remus was slightly jealous at the pure joy he could feel reflected in his eyes. Remus had offered to carry Harry, and the folded-up stroller was in the back of the rental car for when he started to get heavy.

Sirius unloaded the car, then noticing they were alone, he shrank all the items and lightened them, now wearing his camera around his neck instead of the spare pacifier. They walked into a mist, in a section of the Karoo where it was normally dry and desolate. The park rangers had insisted they stay inside their vehicle, but the native wizarding folk knew they were coming and told them exactly where to park.

There were no large trees, and the hot African sun would be blistering their skin if it wasn't for their large floppy hats that Remus insisted they wear. The small shrubs looked like dried up loofahs, and the sun was reflecting in brilliant oranges and reds on the horizon. They walked through the mist, and the heat from the sun seemed to evaporate, and they were at a sign that said: Knarl Enclosures.

A very sunburnt man walked up to them and greeted them. "Hello," he said with a thick African accent.

"Hi, I am Remus, and this is Sirius," Remus said.

"And the little one is too cute," the man said, turning to Harry, noticing his striking emerald green eyes.

"This is Harry," Remus explained.

"I remember, I'm sorry about your friends," he said. "I am Piet." He lead them to the enclosures, it was done like their natural habitats, but closed space helped them keep the small creatures safe.

"We check on them every week. Of course we cannot hand feed them, so we need to charm the daisy bushes to grow inside the habitat. These little blighters are very suspicious of people, so if you attempt to feed them, they think they are being lured into a trap."

"They are _fascinating,_" Sirius said, starry-eyed.

"Unfortunately, they don't naturally occur here, so they are dying out if we don't find them in the Bushveld," Piet said sadly.

"How can we help?" Sirius asked eagerly, forgetting himself.

"Well, if we find them, we need to stun them, it's the only way of getting them in here, and with the current drought it shouldn't be too hard to spot 'em, they hang out near the waterhole," Piet explained. "You are welcome to leave little Harry with Sipho here, it could get dangerous if we run across some lions." Remus peered suspiciously at the other man that appeared, who seemed to speak limited English, but smiled reassuringly at the group.

"I look after him," Sipho said, grinning a broad toothy smile. Remus handed Harry over, who smiled at the stranger and started playing with his dreadlocks.

"He has five children," Piet said with a shrug, "I would trust him with my own."

The statement was enough to set Remus at ease, he really didn't want them coming across any dangerous animals that could hurt their child.

* * *

The three of them went out into the wild, and Sirius couldn't get enough photos of the wildlife, he was taking photographs of zebras and antelope, and he watched them running as the herd got startled by a noise in the grass nearby. They found a knarl.

"How can you tell?" Remus asked Piet as they observed the small spiny ball.

"The face," Piet said. "It's vvvery small, but I can tell it is one."

Piet cast the first stunning spell, using his hands to focus his magic. Sirius had heard African Wizards don't use wands, but he had never seen it before. He noticed the practicality in Piet's green overalls, it kept the sun off his skin, and it already looked weathered from it.

After the first one, they managed to find a couple hidden away in some bushes near the waterhole. They had five when they decided to take a break beneath the overhang of a large rock face. He tossed them each an apple, and took out a knife, cutting a slice of cheese.

"It reminds me of camping with my dad," Piet said, and Sirius saw a look of melancholy on his face.

"Your dad took you camping a lot then?" Sirius asked, trying to find out more about the strange man. The knarls were in a big green cloth bag, and the stunning hadn't worn off yet.

"Yes, he was a great man." Piet stared into the distance, and Sirius let the subject drop.

"Do you know how many knarls are out here?" Remus asked instead, gesturing at the wide open space, a bite taken out of his red apple, cheese almost dropping from his hand.

"Shouldn't be that many left," Piet said thoughtfully. "During the rains, they flourished, but the drought is killing them off faster than we can get to them."

"How much difference will five make?" Sirius said, almost tempted to suggest they catch more before returning to the sanctuary.

"You would be surprised." Piet smiled and lead them back before the knarls woke up from the hex.

Sirius saw Harry sitting in the sand, playing cheerfully with Sipho's children. Their dark complexions made Harry look pale. Sirius watched as Harry looked up and babbled something, then started to crawl towards them.

Remus went ahead, picking him up. He came back with an odd look on his face.

"He just said Padfoot," Remus said. Knarls forgotten for the time being, Sirius smiled so wide it split his face.

"He didn't," he said, but took Harry from Remus.

"Padfoot," Harry babbled.

"Yes, my dear boy, it's Padfoot," Sirius said proudly. Remus had gotten hold of Sirius's camera and decided to snap some pictures of them together.

They didn't stay in Africa for very long, but in the time they were there, they managed to make a large contribution to rehabilitating the knarls, as well as donating a large sum of galleons to the foundation. Piet burst out in tears, he was wearing shorts, and it was clear that he never wore them out during the day because his legs were the same shade as Remus. He made sure both of the men had a shot of mampoer, a strong liquor that was barely legal in South Africa, insisting that they were one of the group, and would be welcomed back with open arms any time they decided to visit.

'_It doesn't feel like we are going home_,' Sirius caught himself thinking, and looking at his family, he couldn't help but think that '_home truly is where the heart is._'


End file.
